The First Graders Richard Chee Quee

Randwick Petersham 1st Grade number: 4 Full Name: Richard Chee Quee Date and Place of Birth: 4 January 1971, Camperdown Secondary School: Marcellin College, Randwick Occupation: Floor coverings manager Playing role: Right hand bat /right arm slow bowler

BATTING Season Mtch Inns N.O. Best Runs Ave. 100 50 Ct. 2001-02 20 24 2 113 1,003 45.59 3 5 7 2002-03 21 23 2 139* 874 41.62 2 4 23 2003-04 22 24 5 111 907 47.74 1 3 16 2004-05 18 20 0 83 643 32.15 4 8 2005-06 18 21 2 92 601 31.63 4 7 Totals 99 112 11 139* 4,028 39.88 6 20 61 Season Overs Mdn Wkts Runs Ave. Best 2001-02 5.3 0 0 35 0 0-2 2002-03 2 1 0 4 0 0-4 2003-04 19.5 5 5 82 16.40 3-22 2004-05 9 0 1 51 51.00 1-28 2005-06 5 0 1 20 20.00 1-20 Totals 41.2 6 7 192 27.43 3-22

Richard Chee Quee was the dominating batsman of Randwick Petersham in its early years. A most consistent batsman he rarely failed while his catching, along with his , was the best in the 1st competition.

Chee Quee joined Randwick Petersham in its first year from Randwick where he had been one of its best performers for a number of years. A former player with 45 first-class and one-day limited overs matches under his belt his experience at the top of the was a recipe for success at a time when it was important to bed down the merger with Petersham-Marrickville.

In Randwick Petersham’s first year Richard hit 1,003 runs for the season which won him the coveted Bill O’Reilly Medal as the 2001-02 Player of the Season. He had scores of 113, 106, 103 along with six scores between 80 and 90. It was the first time in the history of the two merged clubs Randwick and Petersham-Marrickville that a player had passed the magic 1,000 runs in a season. Richard also topped the batting in three of the following four seasons with totals of 874, 907 and 601 hitting six centuries and 20 fifties along the way.

In 2004-05 the NSW Cricket Board granted Richard a Testimonial Year, the highlight of which was a dinner for 400 at Petersham RSL attended by many of Richard’s first class cricketing mates including , Michael Clarke, Stuart McGill, and . It was the first testimonial year granted by the club and one of few endorsed by Cricket New South Wales.

When Richard retired at the end of 2005-06, he did so with a Sydney Grade Cricket record second to none. His 11,874 runs in 1st Grade placed him third on the then all-time run scorers list just 480 behind Greg Hayne from Balmain. Of those runs 7,846 were scored with Randwick and 4,028 with Randwick Petersham. In all grades, Richard accumulated 12,507 runs in Grade Cricket, 973 in Poidevin Gray and 424 in A W Green Shield for a career total of 13,904 runs. As a slip fielder there have been few better and Richard showed his adeptness in the field by snaring 211 catches in his career including 179 in 1st Grade of which 61 were with Randwick Petersham. In 2002-03 he was the leading fielder in Sydney 1st Grade Cricket with 23 catches.

While he had the distinction of being the first player of Chinese origin to play first class , when Richard Chee Quee went to the there was an air of excitement and expectation. His attacking style of play gave spectators and team mates a thrill sensation like no other. He was in fact as he was so often described—the ultimate entertainer. At the 10th Anniversary dinner in 2011 Richard Chee Quee was named in the Randwick Petersham Team of the Decade.